Cumbria fights back snow and Arctic winds

Spring comes early in the South As chilly Arctic winds set the mercury plunging and snow settled on the ground across the country, it felt for many like the freezing weather was back with a vengeance over the weekend. But nothing is that predictable with the English weather. Temperatures are set to rise as high as 17c (63f) this week, ten degrees warmer than the average for this time of year, as gusts from the south blow away the cold snap.
The milder conditions will be welcome after a white weekend in parts of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Cheshire, Lancashire, Cumbria, the Pennines and North Wales.
Forecasters said that winds ‘direct from the Arctic’ had delivered the most severe windchill of the winter. Drivers battled icy roads and there was widespread frost.
But the chill is set to lift this week. Tom Tobler, MeteoGroup forecaster, said: ‘It turns much milder from Monday for the whole of the UK, due to south-westerly winds from around the Azores.
'Tuesday will be milder still, with very mild air on Wednesday and, by Thursday, much of England seeing 13c (55f) to 16c (61f) temperatures, with 17c (63f) possible. Scotland’s east could see 13C or 14C, with 11C to 12C elsewhere.'
He added: ‘The South and East will see the best of dry, sunny spells, mixed in with cloudy periods and patchy rain, heavy at times.’
The freezing conditions had been predicted by the Met Office, which issued a severe weather warning. But last night a spokesman said some areas could soon see temperatures far above average.
‘For the duration of the week there will be progressively milder weather. And we could even see some very warm weather in parts.’
After the Siberian freeze, thaw and another weekend chill, warm winds will now blow in from the coast of Africa which will deliver temperatures higher than May's average of 15C.
The sunny spell means Brits can dig out their shades for the first time this year.
Erin Maton, five, has already been enjoying the sunshine while sitting in a carpet of crocuses blooming at the University of Leicester Botanic Gardens in Oadby, Leicestershire.  
This year's blooms began to come into bud weeks ago but the recent cold weather has held back the flowering until now.
One of the volunteers at the garden said: 'This morning's sunshine has just made them all explode into life - it is the best I've ever seen them look.'
But despite the warm weather in the south, it has been a different picture in the north which is still being battered by wind and freezing rain.
Over the weekend, 1cm of snow settled in Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Cheshire, Lancashire, Cumbria, the Pennines and North Wales.
Glasgow was hit by hail and snow flurries and there was 2cm of snow in Northern Ireland, 5cm at low levels in Scotland and up to 10cm over higher ground in the Grampians, Highland and Aberdeenshire.
Forecasters said winds 'direct from the Arctic' delivered the most severe windchill of the winter.
Cairngorm recorded a ferocious wind gust of 85mph while 55mph wind speeds were reported across Scotland, in north England and north Wales.
Scotland’s Forth Road Bridge imposed speed restrictions and barred double-decker buses, while all other major bridges in Scotland were on alert.
Drivers battled icy roads with more dangerous conditions and there was widespread frost.
But freak February temperatures in the south could nudge June’s normal 18C average in what MeteoGroup say will be by far the warmest days so far of 2012.